Hi Diana,

It's great to see you here and hope things are going well for you.  I only end up checking in every couple months so I'm so glad my friend Denim is here more than I am to give her enormous support to everyone!  I understand what you're saying about those that quit every couple days....that has to be exhausting.  I know my whole first year was just exhausting so to go through that multiple times (or more) has to be really tough.

Again, good to see you and hope your quit is going well this time.

Thank you Cindi :).. nice to meet you and congratulations to you on three and a half years -- near enough exactly a year before me (I quit on 3rd March 2019)

Thank you Denim for your continue cheerleading. Staying quit and wish all our old friends and newly quit friends well. Hope you are doing well and enjoying the late fall. Getting colder and wetter (thank god) here. Since I am now retired, I have decided to get back to referring high school football. They need so much help these days with all youth officiating. The older guys are retiring and there just isn't enough younger folks getting into it. 

I have thought about smoking since I quit, just like all of us, but have had no desire to pick a cigarette up. As the saying goes, "I would rather be an ex-smoker who occasionally thinks about smoking, than be a smoker who constantly thinks about quitting."

Thanks again and I love you all. Stay safe.

Hi Brian,

Great news that you're keeping busy in your retirement.  I'm sure the kids are totally benefitting from your refereeing and guidance.  Lord knows they need guidance today!  So glad we're all hanging in here and touching base every couple months.  My God son just moved out to Oregon recently to take a job with Eaton.  I'd love to go out and visit him sometime and see your neck of the woods.  

Stay healthy and safe and keeping enjoying your retirement.  I may even get there one day! 

Hi Cindi,

Thank you for your reply. If you do ever come out here, we have to arrange to meet for coffee somewhere. How is your job proceeding, still working from home? My wife splits between work and home. She is on the phone most of the day and I have to get on here about being loud - I don't want to live/retire outside next to her office door. I am trying to talk her into retiring as well and we would have to eat the cost of medical insurance until we get older, but we could swing it. She likes money securing and wants to keep working. Maybe I will up and road trip to Ohio some day. I am reading a book about the frontiersmen and women who settled Marietta in the 18th century. I had family in Solon and my mom was born in Akron, but I have never seen the state. Maybe a golf tour of the state.

Can you believe Denim. What a person she is - I wish I had her chops for relationships. She had been the glue to our group and hope she knows that she is saving lives by her attentions. I feel guilty sometimes for getting busy with my own little beehives, forgetting important contacts. She is special.

Glad to hear from you and that you are still smoke free and strong. Amazing person and I am grateful to have quit with you all. We'll talk soon.

Yes I'm still working from home and have gotten quite used to it.  I have gone into the office a couple times in the last two months but I don't miss that 1 1/2 hour drive each way (for sure!).  My office is not far from Solon (it's in Valley View) but that's quite a hike from Conneaut.  Also our office isn't the cleanest place around and since not many people are going there, the amenities are few and far between.  Even before the pandemic, we didn't have paper towels in the restrooms and they installed air dryers (ugh) to save money.  The only reason I go in is that I visit my parents after work since they aren't far from there.  That works better than taking away time from our weekends just to drive into Cleveland.

Ohio is really a pretty place, especially in the Fall.  We don't have the mountains and ocean like Oregon, but Lake Erie is pretty nice and we have some beautiful parks and even some caves down south.

Reading what you wrote about Denim actually brought tears to my eyes and I wholeheartedly agree!  What we went through together that first year was like fighting a damn war and she really has kept our relationships alive.  Plus how she inspires others amazes me every time I see her posting in other groups.  I swear she keeps a spreadsheet with everyone's quit date because she never fails to remember to congratulate someone.  She is truly special.

I better get back to working.  Good talking to you again and I really hope someday we can all meet for coffee!  Hugs!

One thing I've wondered is where can we go to see our posts before our official group was created.  Like where are all of our posts from the first month? Sometimes I'd like to go back and see everything we went through those first few weeks.

Maybe Denim knows... or Marge

So far so good!  I have my random thoughts...but doing okay with it!

I have been making myself get more active and away from my computer!  Been weeding the garden...and cleaning and organizing!  lol

Hope your week is going well!

That's awesome!  Weather is changing here so I need to get out and prepare for winter.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Hey Brian, 

It’s great to hear from you anytime.  Thank you so much for all of your very kind words. It’s greatly appreciated, as are you, and the rest of our little but wonderful group. You all are amazing too. I’m so grateful to have joined and quit when I did. I’m not all sure I would have did as good as I did without the support of Marge, Sue, and each of you. All of you are truly awesome! So really, THANK YOU! 

I’m so happy to hear your coaching. What a wonderful thing to do. With so much going on these days I think it’s great that your stepping in to help coach those young men. I’m sure you’re not only good at it but are a positive influence, which is something I think today’s youth could use more of. Thanks for that too.  

It’s got cooler here also. Fall is definitely making its presence known. I love the changing of the trees in the Autumn though. They’re so beautiful with reds, greens, browns, and yellows, blending together.  

Speaking of fall, it’s about time to make some more homemade chilli. Chilli is great anytime but it’s definitely my colder weather go too, lol. What about you? What have been cooking up lately? Or have you had time to cook recently between football, golf, etc.? I’m thinking about making some lasagna tonight but haven’t decided for sure yet, so we’ll see. 

How’s your day going so far? I was here posting earlier and spilt some coffee on my lap. I was joking with the person I was posting and said it gave my reflexes a jump start, lol. ?? I hope you’re enjoying a great day. 

We haven’t heard from Marilyn, Tom, or Mike recently. I hope they’re all doing good. I also hope they post again soon. Actually today is Tom’s quit date too. I know yours will be Thursday also. I really hope all is well. I know the last time Tom posted that he was good. Marilyn was really going through a lot though personally. I hope she’s okay too. Mike hasn’t posted in over a year though. Again, I hope he’s okay too. Marilyn and Tom both posted in the spring. Maybe I’ll just email them soon and hope I get a response. Definitely missing them here. I’m so glad we’re (you, me, and Cindi) are posting though. Anyway, fingers crossed to hear from the others soon too. Michele posted the first part of the year too but I haven’t heard from her recently either. Love to them and each of you though. 

I’ve got a few things I need to attend to but I’ll be back here a little later on to post Cindi and see if there are any new messages. 

Hugs.